


Lost in Translation

by Mattx13



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: A lot of miscommunication, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Human AU, Language Misunderstanding, M/M, clary is unable to stay out of other people's problems, you can read it as high school or college so i put both
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-01-30
Packaged: 2019-03-11 10:31:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13522374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattx13/pseuds/Mattx13
Summary: Raphael has a crush on his fellow student, Simon Lewis. He wants to pursue him but there's only one problem. He's only ever seen Simon speak in French. Would a note solve help bridge the gap? (No, it will make it worse.)





	Lost in Translation

**Author's Note:**

> howdy y'all! i'm back with a quick story and i hope y'all enjoy it! thanks!

God, he was so cute. Raphael watched as Simon walked down the halls with his friend, both speaking words he didn’t understand rapidly. The girl make have told a joke which made Simon burst out laughing, which transcended language. His voice was amazing, if only they could talk.

  


Simon Lewis was a fellow student at the international college Raphael attended. Raphael was reluctant to admit he had a crush on Simon at first, but now it was impossible to hide. Some of his friends said you’d have to be blind, deaf, dumb, and missing a few other key senses to miss it. There was a major roadblock though. Simon spoke French, Raphael did not. 

  


They had classes together, translators usually in most of them to help a lot of the students, so they could focus on the subjects being taught instead of trying to understand what the teacher was saying. This way the teacher could go as fast as they would like, instead of trying to stop to teach English. There were classes for that, but not everyone took them. Hence the problem.

  


“Magnus. How do I stop liking this guy? Knowing we can’t communicate is trouble enough, let alone not knowing if we would get along.” Raphael complained to Magnus’ sympathetic ear. Magnus sighed, patting his shoulder.

  


“I know this isn’t what you want to hear-”

  


“Then why are you wasting your breath?” Raphael snarked, yelping when Magnus pinched his bicep hard.

  


“But, why don’t you try writing him a note? I’m sure you both could work something out, if he thinks you’re cute too. You’re multilingual, and smart. I don’t think it’s hopeless.” Magnus suggested, tapping his well taken care of nails on the table. “Doesn’t have to be complicated, it can be cheesy. Like, when I saw you, it was love at first sight. Try translating that.”

  


“That’s stupid.” Raphael huffed. “I can think of something better.”

  


When he sat down to do so, however, he couldn’t think of anything. He would get embarrassed, or be unable to find a proper translation. He thought about it for a while, at his apartment, at school. When he was finally staring at the back of Simon’s head, he desperately wanted to give the other man  _ some  _ kind of note by the end of class. He was caught up between trying to pay attention and to sneak peeks at Simon that the professor announcing the end of class caught Raphael off guard. He scribbled down the stupid thing Magnus said that he translated for fun. Written to the best of Raphael’s memory, he jogged down the stairs and got Simon’s attention before he could leave.

  


Simon blinked, raising his eyebrows and it was unnerving to have his eyes fully focused on Raphael. Before he could lose the nerve, he shoved the note into his hands. Simon gave him an amused look and a lopsided smile as he smoothed out the paper. His eyes traced the sentence on the otherwise blank page, eyebrows furrowing tightly. He glanced up at Raphael, confused, reading it again as if he didn’t understand. He had a face of disgust  and pushed the note to Raphael’s chest. Simon left quickly, looking back for a second at Raphael. Raphael stared back, heartbroken as he clutched the note. Simon shook his head, shuddering as he turned the corner.

  


Raphael wanted to scream and break things or cry alone in his room, he wasn’t sure yet. What happened? Was Simon that close minded to a man having feelings for him? What happened?

  


He went to the rest of his classes, which thankfully didn’t have Simon in them. None of them held his attention, his mind just running through the situation again and again. Raphael felt as if he truly got egg on his face. Until, that is, he was walking home and got actual egg on his face.

  


“Stay away from my friend, you goddamn creep!” Simon’s friend shouted at him, throwing another egg. Raphael threw his hands up in innocence, sputtering.

  


“Stop, what are you doing?!” Raphael questioned, protecting his face. “I will report you for a hate crime!” He threatened, walking towards the angry red head to get her to stop.

  


“And I can report you for sexually harassing my best friend!” She said, throwing eggs at Raphael as quickly as she could. He finally got to her, slapping the rest of the carton out of her hands. She in return smashed the one she had still in her hand against his face. Raphael grabbed her arms in return so she would stop, wiping his face on her sleeve. She made a face of disgust, shouting even though they weren’t far apart. “You, are the worst kind of person in this world!” She panted, angry and fighting against his grip. “Let go of me!”

  


“No!  _ You  _ are the absolute scum of this Earth!” Raphael shouted back, upset and still dripping yolks and whites. “You think just because someone is gay, you get to treat them like this?!” She scoffed.

  


“No! I’m gay, my girlfriend’s gay, my best friend is gay, everyone in my friend’s group is gay! What I have a problem with is you making disgusting obscene comments to my friend!.” She yelled, Raphael staring at her.

  


“I didn’t say anything of the sort!I was just trying to start a conversation, see if we have any languages in common. It wasn’t anything sexual in nature.” Raphael defended, angry that she would accuse him of such a thing.

  


“... What’s your name?” She asked, still on the attack but pausing briefly.

  


“Raphael.”

  


“I’m Clary.” She offered a hand for him to shake, Raphael flicking his wrist and yolk flying off his hand. She saw his point, retracting her hand.

“The pleasure’s all yours.” Raphael scowled, Clary continued anyway. 

  


”What were you trying to tell Simon?” He was sheepish to admit it, swallowing hard.

  


“I just… I thought he was cute. My friend recommended I gave him a cheesy love note, so I tried to tell him that it was… Love at first sight, I guess.”

  


Clary stared at him for a minute, her jaw set hard. “Wait. Right here. Do not move a muscle.” When Raphael motioned to mess all over him, she was more stern. “Do  _ not  _ move!” She threatened, disappearing across the courtyard.

  


Raphael was already humiliated, trying to stop the egg from getting into his eyes, when Clary came back. She presented Simon in front of him and Raphael winced, covering his face. “I said stop! You don’t need to bring him into this too! I learned my lesson, okay?!” He shouted, Simon looking confused at Clary.

  


“What is all over him?”  Simon questioned, Raphael watching the words come from his mouth in shock.

  


“You speak English?!” He questioned, this day impossible to make worse from this moment. Clary shut them both up, motioning to Raphael.

  


“I threw eggs at him, not important.” Simon looked shocked, beginning to chastise her actions but she shut him up again. “Raphael, epeat what you were trying to say.” She requested, giving Raphael a hard look. Raphael wanted them both to leave him alone, trying to keep from crying. He balled his fists as Simon watched him.

  


“I was trying to tell him I liked him from when I first saw him, love at first sight.” He repeated quietly, Simon gasping.

  


“Oh my God. Oh my God. You meant coup de foudre?” Simon questioned, putting his hands over his mouth. “Oh no, this is so terrible. You have my deepest apologies, I didn’t, shit.” Simon took out his jacket, trying to use the cotton clothing as a makeshift towel. “This is a big misunderstanding, I’m so sorry.”

  


“What do you mean?” Raphael asked, stopping Simon’s hands and staring at him. “That’s not what I wrote? What did you think the note said?” Simon chewed his lip, seeming the most embarrassed out of all of them.

  


“Well, um, you made a slight spelling mistake. So, instead of, a note of, well...” Simon blew out a breath. “Coup de foutre, what you wrote, means cum shot. So… I thought you were saying, the first time you saw me, you creamed your jeans. And you know, that’s weird to uh, just like,  _ say  _ to someone...” He explained, giving a gritted teeth awkward smile. “Clary thought you were sexually harassing me. Which, apparently, she meant to solve, with uh, eggs. I’m so sorry.”

  


Raphael stared at him, almost through him. “Are you being serious?” He questioned, Simon nodding.

  


“I am, also sorry.” Clary coughed, looking away. “I will… Let Simon deal with his own problems with words in the future. I’m gonna go.”

  


“I’m… Gonna go too.” Raphael said, feeling the beginning of tears pricking his eyes. He was absolutely humilated, fucking Magnus, fucking French. He should have just waited for the crush to fade. This was so much worse.

  


“No no, I’m sure you two have more to talk about, I’m sure, now that you understand each other and know that you can understand each other.” Clary tried, motioning between them. Simon nodded but Raphael shook his head.

  


“Please allow me my pride, and leave me alone. I’m sorry.” Raphael walked away quickly, slowing when he was away from the two. The egg was crusting against his skin and his hair. He glanced around and people were staring at him. He got his phone out, holding it a bit away from his ear so it hopefully wouldn’t get sticky like the rest of him. “Magnus. Do you mind picking me up? I’m… I’m at the campus, and I don’t want to walk home. You might want to bring a towel, I don’t want to mess up your car.”

  


After some discussion, Magnus rolled up, immediately coming out of the car. “Oh my gosh, who did this to you?!” He questioned, absolutely furious for his friend.

  


“I’d rather get clean first, if you don’t mind Magnus.” Raphael requested, and it broke Magnus’ heart to hear him speak so quietly. Magnus gritted his teeth to contain his anger but nodded, opening the door for him. Raphael thanked him, ducking his head into the vehicle.

  


\-------------

  


Magnus escorted Raphael to his classes. He honestly didn’t need protection, but it was the only compromise they could agree on. Magnus was angry enough to go  _ far  _ past an eye for an eye, so escorting was fine as long as his best friend didn’t involve himself. Raphael personally just wanted to burn the memory out of his head. It hurt to see the look Simon gave him in classes, especially since he had no idea what it meant. Raphael just stared forward after catching his eye once, his peripheral catching Simon’s hurt expression. A part of him throbbed in pain as well, but Raphael pretended he didn’t care. What did Simon have to be hurt about anyway? He wasn’t humiliated. There were times that he seemed to be waiting for Raphael when class ended, but Magnus was always right there to shoulder him off with a glare. 

  


It wasn’t until a week later that Raphael found a note under his textbook.

  


_ ¿Te gusta la comida china? _

  


Raphael blinked, glancing around to see Simon staring at him from his seat. Class had already started, so Raphael tried to be as uninterruptive as possible, pointing at the note and then Simon to ask if it was from him. Simon nodded, putting his hands together to motion that he’s willing to beg to talk to Raphael. Raphael sighed. It probably couldn’t be helped, he motioned to the open desk next to him with his head. Simon gathered his stuff with alarming speed, crunching up papers in his hands as if they were unimportant. He plopped next to Raphael, who was resting his head on his hand and watching him carefully. Simon coughed awkwardly, staring back before he got the courage to finally speak.

  


“Hi.”

  


“Hey. Is there something you needed from me? Notes, perhaps, since you’ve been staring at me instead of the board all week?” Raphael asked casually, trying to avoid clenching his jaw.

  


“Sorry.” Simon said, glancing at the professor. “No, I've been stealing notes from others, that’s not what I’m here for.” He confessed, which made Raphael blow a small amount of air out of his nose in amusement. “No, I just, Clary’s actions were unacceptable, and I didn’t put her up to that.”

  


“I know.” Raphael replied, blinking slowly.

  


“You know? Good!” Simon said a little too excitedly, getting shushed by other classmates. His smile faded when Raphael’s stone faced expression didn’t change. “...That doesn’t mean you forgive either of us.” Simon stated, Raphael nodding in agreement.

  


“It’s really shitty to do that to someone. I didn’t know why she was doing that, but I’m used to being attacked for who I am.” Raphael stated, Simon furrowing his eyebrows in concern for the other man. Taking his stunned silence into account, Raphael simply continued. “So if your conscience is clear, I’d like you to leave me alone.”

  


“No! That’s, that’s not why I came up here. I feel terrible about all of this, and I wanted to make it up to you.”

  


“I don’t need your pity, thank you.”

  


“No, it’s not-!” Simon let out a noise of frustration, lips forming a thin line while he thought how to articulate his intentions the best. Raphael’s eyes browsed his face, holding up the note.

  


“Did you Google translate this?”

“Yeah, I didn’t have time before class.” Simon answered, still lost in his thoughts. “I wanted to get here before your bodyguard did.” He mumbled. “Sorry if it’s bad.”

  


Raphael shrugged, glancing at the note again before his eyes returned to Simon. “Why do you need to know if I liked Chinese food?”

  


Simon pressed his lips together, licking them nervously before finally speaking. “I wanted to make it up to you, buying you lunch. I could give you a ride? My van’s pretty cool.”

  


“Yeah, I’ve seen your multi-colored, windowless van. Seems safe.” Raphael joked a little, Simon letting out a giggle that made the soft side of Raphael’s heart sing.

  


“I promise to clean it extensively before you come in. I just feel terrible, since trying to confess feelings like that is really brave, braver than I could ever be. Did you really think I only spoke French?” Simon asked with a smile. “I didn’t think mine was that good.”

  


“Well, I was willing to make it work.” Raphael said, leaving out the part that he was  _ not  _ willing originally. “I don’t know.”

  


“What about me was so worth fighting for?” Simon was admittedly curious, raising an eyebrow with a small smile.

  


“I just...” Raphael forced his face not to flush, eyes darting to his desk instead of Simon’s face. “I really liked your laugh.”

  


Simon’s smile widened, eyes softening. “Yeah, you’re much braver than me.”

  


“Why do you keep saying that?” Raphael questioned, looking back at him. Simon’s eyes widened, blushing unabashedly and stuttering. He tried to start a sentence several times, sighing and giving up eventually.

  


“The truth? The uh, truth is…” He started, Raphael waiting patiently for Simon to spit it out. “Um, last semester, when you were a library assistant, I may have um...” He was really red now, trying to get his words out without stuttering. “I visited, a lot, even when I didn’t need anything, because, I, um, had a big crush…. On… You.” Simon finally admitted, making hesitant eye contact with Raphael.

  


“...Had?” Raphael questioned, chewing his lip. Simon blew out a big breath, shaking his head.

  


“Have. As in, still ongoing. Which makes me feel even worse about the whole situation, and I would  _ really _ like to make it up to you.” He admitted, swallowing so hard Raphael could see his Adam’s apple bob.

  


“Like a date?” Raphael questioned again, not believing with his hearing.

  


“If you don’t like Chinese food we can go someplace else, and doesn’t matter how fancy you wanna go for I’m sure I can scrap together something, since, of course, it would be my treat, I wouldn’t expect you to contribute when this is an apology, but you know this is  _ completely  _ up to you, we could eat dirt if you wanted, but of course dirt is free, you don’t have to pay for dirt but-” Simon’s rambling pulled to a stop when Raphael pressed a soft kiss to his burning cheek, a weird squeak coming out of his mouth next. Raphael just smiled, pulling away as the bell rung.

  


“I love Chinese. Split a big order of dumplings with me?” He requested, glancing over Simon’s face. Simon nodded dumbly, clearing his throat to bring himself back to the current situation.

  


“Uh, yes. Yes! Um, six o’ clock? Jade Wolf?”

  


“Sounds great.” Raphael said, flipping over Simon’s note and writing something else. Magnus was already waiting by the door, glaring into Simon’s soul. It didn’t matter though, Raphael’s smile was the only thing Simon could focus on as he was handed the paper back with a series of numbers on it. “See you then.” Raphael waved goodbye as he slipped out of the room with Magnus to disappear into the hallway crowd. Simon was left dumbstruck, simply sitting in his seat and staring where Raphael once was. Once his brain caught up, he pulled his phone out so fast he almost flung it across the room.

  


“Hey, um, Luke? Do you perhaps take reservations?”

**Author's Note:**

> simon: you know if you really want revenge against clary, we could go paintballing against her  
> magnus: hmmm....  
> simon: short legs, ain't going anywhere fast  
> magnus: HMMMMMMMMM.....
> 
> also i hope this fic is worth it my sister wouldn't proofread until she cleared every smudge off my screen


End file.
